Wednesday, February 17, 2016

By their nature, MMOs are among
the most ambitious games ever created, featuring massive online communities,
drawing scores and scores of players into a virtual world of adventure where
content isn't just compelling and attractive, it always has to be plentiful as
well. Once upon a time, proper MMOs were rare but the players' thirst for more
and more legendary drops, ever fancier armor and weapon sets and more and more
intricate and enthralling quests was met with a seemingly endless supply on the
part of game creators. Needless to say, not all available titles have lived up
to expectations, but there are always a few which end up defining the genre
every year. What exactly are we looking forward to in this respect in 2016?
Here's a small countdown of promising titles, some of which are already established
games while others are still caught up in the throes of creation.

Blade and Soul is one of the MMOs that already has the ball rolling. Armed
with a vibrant community and a definite East-Asian taste, Blade and Soul has
already racked up a massive following in the West. Its unique combat style -
straight out of a special-effect-heavy martial arts movie - and the vast
character-customization options it brings to the table, make it one of the
potential winners, even if in other ways, it doesn't much deviate from the
proven and therefore quite run-of-the-mill MMO recipe. More significantly
though, Blade and Soul's success in the West may translate into a future trend
that will see other such specifically Asian titles make the move towards
Western audiences too (and by that we obviously mean Lost Ark - after all one
can indeed hope...)

Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade is another promising title. The
richness of the lore the game is reportedly drawing on and the sheer appeal of
the whole game-universe for fans of unbridled virtual violence make this title
a potential winner indeed. The game features four playable races (with the
obvious possibility of many more being added later - considering the pool the
game could draw on in this respect). For now, we're looking at Space Marines,
Chaos Space Marines, Orks and Eldar, with several sub-classes and with combat
that - as it's expected from a Warhammer game - knows no bounds. Players will
slaughter each-other in ranged, melee and vehicular combat...What more is there
left to be said about this but "Moar Dakka!"

Last but definitely not least, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen seeks to
impose its presence in this rather saturated market through a
not-exactly-original yet very appealing selling-point: it is looking to bring
back the old ways of group-focused combat and adventure, by featuring quests,
dungeons and bosses that simply cannot be conquered alone. Players will be more
or less compelled to interact for a variety of other reasons too, so this game
will definitely call upon one's social skills quite a bit.

Philip Thalberg has been working for Gosugamers,
the top destination for everything eSport,
since 2004.